Info Junkie: Mind improver

Lou Manfredini, 42, has hosted the "Mr. Fix-It" call-in show on WGN-AM since 1995. The former homebuilder's other credits include a half-dozen home improvement books, a column in USA Weekend, regular appearances on the "Today" show and employment as the "helpful hardware man" for Ace Hardware Corp. His eyes are nailed to:

Whatever newspaper is at hand. TV appearances and gigs as a paid spokesman for various tool companies keep him on the road several days a week, so USA Today, found in hotels, is a frequent source. "It's like reading the television set, but at least it's a snapshot of what's happening."

Home-improvement and shelter magazines like This Old House, Home Magazine and Metropolitan Home. "Those are the places that my audience is looking for information, so I'd better be in tune with what they're doing."

Real Simple, Better Homes & Gardens, Martha Stewart Living, Redbook. "I get this question from people in the media: 'We understand that women are driving home improvement?'  like it's this new thing. In my 20 years of building, it was always women who were driving home improvement."

Construction trade pubs, including Professional Roofing, Fine Homebuilding, Journal of Light Construction, Concrete Construction. "You pick up little tidbits. I think my strength is to be able to take all that technical jargon and communicate it in laypeople's terms."

Passalongs from his wife's book club, including Jerzy Kosinski's 1971 satiric novel "Being There," about an illiterate gardener who becomes a media savant. "She goes, 'The fact that you're in the media  you're going to love this book.' "